Have the tobacco police gone too far?

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I am so very happy that now when I go to see a concert I don't come home with every inch of me -- including my contact lenses when I wore them -- stinking of smoke. For me that's a fantastic reason to ban smoking in public places. :up:
 
Dogs must be banned from all public places
Dogs are a filthy habit, taken up by filthy people who clearly have no respect for those who don’t like dog hair.

It has come to my attention that certain people are talking about amending the ban on dogs in public places. They want, in other words, to go back to the unhealthy, smelly, and inconsiderate past. Well, all I can say is that certain people seem to have some very misguided ideas about ‘freedom’ and ‘rights’.

The Dog Ban is one of the greatest political achievements of the last 500 years. Any revision – even discussion – would be a devastating blow to public health. Not that this is necessarily about health. Let’s face it: dogs just stink, and the people who get so powerfully attached to them – for God knows what sick and twisted reasons – stink, too. They have no ‘right’ to inflict their vile addiction on me.

Anyway, this isn’t about personal taste, it’s about health! Within minutes of exposure to a dog, my eyes start to itch and then swell up. Within an hour, I will start to wheeze, and eventually have a full-blown asthma attack. It is possible that such an attack could kill me. There are millions of people with similar allergies. Dog owners are nothing less than murderers. Moreover, they are a minority, so who cares what they want?


Of course, I have nothing against dog addicts! I am a tolerant person. If they want to roll around in dog hair in their stinking homes, then good luck to them. Unless, of course, there are children present, in which case the dogs should be forcibly removed and shot. Likewise if the dog addict’s flat adjoins another. The same, naturally, goes for their cars. To have a dog in one’s car when a child is present is clearly a form of child abuse. Even non-asthmatic children are having their lives shortened by regular exposure to stinking dog germs.

Anyway, this isn’t about health or personal taste, it’s about setting a good example to children! Dog imagery on TV and displays of dog products in shops, for instance, must be banned. They can only encourage children to actually want a dog – even to think that such desires are normal. And what sort of example is set by dogs freely running around in open-air spaces such as parks, urinating and defecating all over the place? Not only that, but, in case you haven’t noticed, dogs bite. Have you ever seen a leg amputated because of gangrene? It’s not funny.

Still, you know the kind of things dog addicts say: ‘MY dog is a NICE dog’, or ‘I’ll clean up after it’, or ‘I’ll keep it on a leash’. Well, maybe they will, and maybe they won’t. We can’t depend on the ‘good will’ of these selfish morons. The Ban must, and will, be extended to outside areas as soon as possible. And it has to be a total ban, with no exceptions. That’s the only way to be fair.
So, don’t listen to the pro-dog lobby. The Ban is here to stay, and now we can all move on to the next logical step: getting rid of filthy, stinking, fat, unhealthy, noisy, violent, drunken drinkers. A ban on alcohol in pubs is long overdue.

Joe Jackson is a musician and writer. He is a supporter of Save Our Pubs & Clubs: AmendTheSmokingBan.com, a cross-party campaign that wants amendments to the current smoking ban in Britain. An earlier version of this article was published on The Free Society.
Dogs must be banned from all public places | spiked
 
Many countries--Australia, Canada, NZ, Ireland, Germany, Spain, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, several US states--actually do severely restrict or outright ban the selling, owning or handling of dozens of traditional guard-dog breeds (Dobermans, Rotties, American Pit Bull & Staffordshire Terriers, Dogo Argentinos, Tosa Inus, American Bulldogs, etc. etc.). Granted, that's on public safety grounds as based on attack statistics, and not for aesthetic reasons as the above satire suggests--though it's hard to believe that "cute" Chow Chows and "majestic" German Shepherds don't get some mileage out of their looks in largely evading such bans, seeing as they have as many or more documented serious attacks to their (owners') discredit as several of the aforementioned breeds do.
 
I think I live in the most dog UNfriendly city. Besides an actual pet store or Tractor Supply, I can't think of any public places where dogs are welcome. Dogs have always been banned from more places than smoking, and all the places I can think of that you can smoke, you can have a dog. You can smoke more places than you can bring a dog. :shrug:

Breed bans and BSL (breed specific legislation) is probably an entirely different issue. My main objects are that 1) You can't legislate common sense (ie, responsible dog ownership). People still drink and drive, shoot each other with stolen guns, etc. 2) Most people aren't qualified to even make determinations on which "breed" a dog really is. On any given day, half the dogs at our local shelter are mislabeled. http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html
 
Me either. Other dogs and dog owners are some of my biggest pet peeves! The posted article didn't really do anything for me because I'm already used to my dogs not going anywhere public, so smokers can just deal with it. I have to pay higher insurance because I own dogs/German Shepherds; smokers can pay higher health insurance premiums. I still can't stand smoking, especially on the beach. Nothing bugs me more at the beach than having someone plunk down next to you and smoke the entire time, of course just leaving all the butts there on the sand. Besides the disgusting smell, I just can't wrap my mind around people throwing trash out of their window, on the sidewalk, on the sand at the beach.... and unfortunately I can't say I've met a smoker that actually picks up after him/herself.
 
if i get shit canned drunk and start pestering random people walking down the street, i could very well end up in jail for being a public nuisance.

if i have a dog and i don't control my dog, i could very well end up having trouble with the law.

if i blast my music over a certain decibel level, i could very well end up having trouble with the law.

if i smoke, and i smoke in public and blow likely cancerous smoke in the general vicinity of random strangers, nothing at all happens to me.

:shrug:
 
if i smoke, and i smoke in public and blow likely cancerous smoke in the general vicinity of random strangers, nothing at all happens to me.

:shrug:

Why aren't you bothered by automobile fumes, especially since you live in an automobile-dense urban area in one of the most car dependent societies on earth?

This is the question I keep asking and no-one has a satisfactory answer. Is it because, as smokers rights' groups argue, that people are propagandised - brainwashed, effectively - into absurd, over-the-top, and simply unscientific beliefs regarding the dangers of passive smoking?
 
because i don't stand in the middle of the street.

and yes, new york city has laws restricting engine idling and "standing" cars, and the bloomberg administration has been going after congestion and restricting vehicle use in manhattan for quite a few years now.

if i sit in a car and idle the engine, blowing exhaust into the street, i can get a ticket. but i won't be getting that ticket, 'cause i don't own a car. this guy takes mass transit.
 
This is the question I keep asking and no-one has a satisfactory answer. Is it because, as smokers rights' groups argue, that people are propagandised - brainwashed, effectively - into absurd, over-the-top, and simply unscientific beliefs regarding the dangers of passive smoking?

My opinions on the matter have nothing to do with the "dangers" of smoking. I just simply find it intrusive and disgusting. I don't fling my dog's shit or my soda cans all over the beach, the state parks, on the sidewalks, or out my car window. There are many bars and restaurants I avoided for years because they were downright filthy (and I come from a household of pack-a-day smokers so my standards are actually quite low).
 
My opinions on the matter have nothing to do with the "dangers" of smoking. I just simply find it intrusive and disgusting. I don't fling my dog's shit or my soda cans all over the beach, the state parks, on the sidewalks, or out my car window. There are many bars and restaurants I avoided for years because they were downright filthy (and I come from a household of pack-a-day smokers so my standards are actually quite low).

Smoking is not allowed in bars and restaurants in Ireland, period, and I don't have a problem with this. If I am in a bar or restaurant and go outside for a cigarette I always use the external ashtray whereever provided. If there is no ashtray, then yes, I probably will extinguish the cigarette on the ground with my foot, and leave the butt there, but what's the alternative? Street sweepers have to earn a living too. I never smoke in my car or on the street.
 
well i can only really speak for NYC... and smoking outside of bars is still very much legal and in practice, even in the dead of winter.

the recent ban went for public parks... meaning central park, the times square pedestrian plaza, city beaches, coney island boardwalk, etc. etc. i'm in favor of this, and would have liked to see it also include outdoor subway and train platforms as well.

if you want to smoke on the sidewalk, i've got no problem with that... i just walk to the other side of the street.
 
Smoking is not allowed in bars and restaurants in Ireland, period, and I don't have a problem with this. If I am in a bar or restaurant and go outside for a cigarette I always use the external ashtray whereever provided. If there is no ashtray, then yes, I probably will extinguish the cigarette on the ground with my foot, and leave the butt there, but what's the alternative? Street sweepers have to earn a living too. I never smoke in my car or on the street.

It's not allowed here anymore either, thank goodness. The beach smoking ban has passed but as far as I can tell hasn't gone into effect, or isn't being enforced because every time I'm at the beach I have to move around because a big party of smokers comes and sits in front of me and sticks their butts in the sand. Like Headache, I don't really care of people smoke on public sidewalks (and for the most part, I can walk my dog on a city sidewalk), I can cross the street or walk past if it bothers me. I just think it's disgusting to toss the butts on the ground, out the car window, in the sand, etc. What's the alternative? Like all other refuse, throwing it away in the trash receptacle! I pick up after my dogs when they relieve themselves in public places, and carry my empty drink cup until I can throw it away. You can't tell me that a little cigg butt is more difficult to pick up and throw away than dog doo....
 
What's the alternative? Like all other refuse, throwing it away in the trash receptacle!

Highly dangerous, do you realise fatal fires have been started that way? Cigarettes should only be discarded into a designated ashtray, which I emphasize I always do...if there is one available.

At this stage in this thread the same old arguments are going around and around. My position on smoking is that I don't recommend it, I am merely pointing out that there is huge inconsistency in the way the media and elements of the medical community go on and on about the risks from smoking whilst largely ignoring the danger from other forms of air pollution.
 
well i can only really speak for NYC... and smoking outside of bars is still very much legal and in practice, even in the dead of winter.

the recent ban went for public parks... meaning central park, the times square pedestrian plaza, city beaches, coney island boardwalk, etc. etc. i'm in favor of this, and would have liked to see it also include outdoor subway and train platforms as well.

if you want to smoke on the sidewalk, i've got no problem with that... i just walk to the other side of the street.

Bloomberg, though I'm generally an admirer...there's just a faint whiff of reformed smoker zealot about the building with that guy.
 
yea but he's like this with a lot more than just smoking... he's had major campaigns against salt and sugar in foods, as well as congestion and automobile pollution. most MTA busses are electric now, and all new taxi cabs have to be hybrids, and the next new cab will be emissions free all together... he continues to push for a congestion toll for any car that enters manhattan below 125th street, and has closed down major intersections from automobile use, including large parts of times & herald squares.
 
Highly dangerous, do you realise fatal fires have been started that way? Cigarettes should only be discarded into a designated ashtray, which I emphasize I always do...if there is one available.

At this stage in this thread the same old arguments are going around and around. My position on smoking is that I don't recommend it, I am merely pointing out that there is huge inconsistency in the way the media and elements of the medical community go on and on about the risks from smoking whilst largely ignoring the danger from other forms of air pollution.



I agree.
on this thread each of us are preaching to our side of the choir now.

Can I sing!
"whoopee we're all gonna die."


Lighting up a Lucky Strike.
My first cigarette in a week.
I smoke by choice, not habit.


Take care and be sure to salt your fries liberally while visiting NYC.
 
At this stage in this thread the same old arguments are going around and around. My position on smoking is that I don't recommend it, I am merely pointing out that there is huge inconsistency in the way the media and elements of the medical community go on and on about the risks from smoking whilst largely ignoring the danger from other forms of air pollution.

And my position has more to do with the gross factor in public places than whether or not I recommend smoking or am concerned with air pollution. I don't really care if people smoke or not, nor do I have time to point out all the things other people do that shorten their lifespan. My only concern with smoking is when someone's habit starts bothering me.
 
I saw it and thought it was cute and funny-honestly I didn't notice the smoking all that much..had no idea it was 60, maybe I was just tired. A lot of kids are going to start smoking because of Rango?

By Rita Rubin, USA TODAY

Anti-smoking advocates are calling the animated PG movie Rango a public health hazard for its numerous depictions of smoking.

The film, which opened Friday and topped the weekend box office with a gross of $38 million, includes at least 60 instances of characters smoking, said Kori Titus, CEO of the Sacramento-based non-profit Breathe California.

One of Breathe California's projects is "Thumbs Up! Thumbs Down!" — in which trained young people and adults analyze films' tobacco content. Each time a character is seen smoking is counted as one instance, Titus said, adding she was taken aback when she received an e-mail Sunday about the frequency of smoking in Rango. The only other animated film on par with that, she said, was 101 Dalmatians, with about 60 instances of Cruella De Vil smoking.

Because there are so many scenes in which characters smoke, she said, her group might not be able to get a definitive count until Rango comes out on DVD.

"A lot of kids are going to start smoking because of this movie," said Stanton Glantz, director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California-San Francisco. Youths who frequently see smoking onscreen are two to three times more likely to begin smoking than peers who rarely see it depicted, he said.

On Feb. 23, Smoke Free Movies, a project of Glantz's, ran a full-page ad in Variety and the Hollywood Reporter that slammed the smoking in Rango. "How many studio execs did it take to OK smoking in a 'PG' movie?" the ad asked.

Said Glantz, "If we had known it's as bad as it is, this ad would have been even tougher."

Virginia Lam, a spokeswoman for Paramount, Rango's maker, said the title character never smokes. "The images of smoking in the film ... are portrayed by supporting characters and are not intended to be celebrated or emulated," she said.

From 2007 through 2010, Lam said, the number of Paramount's tobacco-free films across all ratings increased 25%, and only one G- or PG-rated film, a documentary, depicted tobacco. Lam said the studio also has included anti-smoking public service announcements on DVDs of youth-related movies that depict smoking.

Nevertheless, Rango has renewed the call by Glantz and other anti-smoking advocates for the Motion Picture Association of America, or MPAA, to rate any film that shows smoking as "R."

Of more than 2,500 movies rated from May 2007 to May 2010, nearly three-fourths of those that depicted smoking were rated R, and instances of smoking in films not rated R have declined, MPAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Kaltman said. Still, she said, "the (ratings) system should not be held up as a vehicle dedicated to cause less smoking in films."
 
Youths who frequently see smoking onscreen are two to three times more likely to begin smoking than peers who rarely see it depicted, he said.
Somehow I doubt this is the sort of movie "youths" who start smoking are making those smoking-is-cool associations from.
 
See, this is where the anti-smoking crowd begin to lose me.

"A lot of kids are going to start smoking because of this movie,"

Don't these claims pop up EVERY time a movie with these sorts of "influences" comes out? And doesn't it seem like the feared "sudden outbreak" always winds up being a wee bit overexaggerated?

It's. A. Movie. Don't want your kid to see it? Don't take them to the theater :shrug:.

Angela
 
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